Indicator device for sawmills.



w. L. WALDING.=

INDICATOR DEVICE FOR SAWMILLS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG 7. I915.

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W. L. WALDING.

INDICATOR DEVICE FOR SAWMILLS.

APPUCATION HLED AUG 7 1915 Patented May 15, 1917.

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gmmvlio c WILLIAM L. WALDING, 0F MILFORD, LOUISIANA.

INDICATOR DEVICE FOR SAWMILLS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 15, 1917.

Application filed. August 7, 1915. Serial No. 44,231.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM L. lVALn- ING, a citizen of the United States, residing at Milford, in the parish of Rapides and State of Louisiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Indicator Devices for Sawmills; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in calculating devices for saw mills and my object is to provide a pair of cooperating parts having graduated scales thereon for regulating the thickness of the timbers being sawed.

A further object is to provide means for moving one of the parts into proper registration with the other parts.

A further object is to provide means for rotating the graduated members from the set shaft of a saw mill.

A further object is to provide means for holding one of the parts in engagement with the other under tension.

And a further object is to provide an indicator adapted to cooperate with the graduations on the two members.

Other objects and advantages will be hereinafter set forth and more particularly pointed out in the accompanying specification.

In the accompanying drawings which are made a part of this application,

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view through the device showing the same attached to parts of a saw mill, and

Fig. 2 is a top plan View thereof.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a saw mill showing my improved form of indicator attached to the set shaft thereof.

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation of the indicator with parts ofthe supporting shaft and surrounding sleeve being broken away for the sake of convenience.

Referring to the drawings in which similar reference numerals designate I corresponding parts throughout the several views, 1 indicates a sill, such as is commonly used in connection with log carriages of saw mills, and 2 indicates a set shaft, such as is commonly used for moving the dogged log carried by the saw mill carriage into the P a a suita le f re. Qt rat h lever mechanism (not shown) being used 111 connection with the set shaft to rotate the same. Preferably spanning the shaft 2 and attached in any suitable manner to the sill 1 is a bracket 3 having at its center an upstanding socket 4:, in which is fixed the lower end of a standard 5, said standard being of any desired height and held in fixed relation in any suitable manner as by means of a binding screw 6. Rotatably mounted on the standard 5 and positioned above the socket 4 and resting thereon is a beveled gear 7, which meshes with a beveled pinion 8 fixed to the shaft 2, so that when said slut-"t is rotated, the gear 7 will be likewise rota-ted. The gear 7 has attached thereto an elongated sleeve 9 which extends to a point adjacent the upper end of the standard 5 and surrounding said sleeve and fixed thereto by means of a set screw 10 is a dial 11, said dial being circular and having its upper portion beveled inwardly to provide an inclined face 12, which inclined face is provided with a scale which is graduated to inches and fractions thereof. The upper edge of the dial 11 is provided with an upstanding rib 13 which rib is substantially one-half the width of the upper edge of the dial, with which is adapted to cooperate a depending rib 14 on the lower edge of an adjustable dial 15, said adjustable dial being likewise circular and substantially conical to provide an inclined face 16, the inclination of which is the same as the inclination of the face 12 of the fixed disk.

The face of the adjustable dial 15 is divided into spaces 17, 18, 19 and 20, and on these spaces are placed graduations which are to determine the thickness of the timber as it is sawed from the log, the space 17 being so graduated as to cut the timbers to a thickness of 1 inches, the space 18 to 111; inches, the space 19 to 1% inches and the space 20 to 2 inches, when the dials are operated in a manner to be hereinafter described. The adjustable dial 15 has a hub 21 which surrounds the sleeve 9 and independently rotates thereon, said hub and adjustable dial being held in engagement with the fixed dial by placing an expansible coiled spring 22 around the sleeve 9 and between a collar 23 resting upon the upper end of the hub 21, and a similar collar 2-1 1 fixed to the sleeve 9 adjacent its upper end, each of said sleeves having a a n l 25 inc in which the ends of the spring 22 seat, the collar 24 being held in fixed relation with the sleeve 9 by means of a locking bolt 26.

The tension of the spring 22 is such as to hold the adjustable dial in engagement with the fixed dial with suflicient force as to cause the adjustable dial to rotate with the fixed dial, but the adjustable dial may be manually rotated independently of the fixed dial.

In order to rotate the adjustable dial 15 with respect to the dial 11, suitable levers 27 are attached to the spokes 28 of said dial and extended downwardly therefrom, the lower ends of the levers being extended laterally and through elongated slots 29 in the dial ll, there being preferably four of said levers exposed at equal distances around the dial that the adjustable dial may be readily and conveniently operated by the saw mill set shaft operator without having to shift his position.

Attached to the upper end of the standard 5 is an indicating finger 30 which is adapted to extend over the inclined faces of the dials 11 and 15 to cooperate with the graduations thereon and determine the degree to which the dials are to be rotated.

In the operation of the device the set shaft of the saw mill carriage is rotated and the saw mill knees moved laterally until they are jamagainst the rotary saw. When the knees are in this position, the set screw 10 is loosened and the dials 11 and 15 rotated to a zero position beneath the stationary indicator arm 30, after which the set screw is again tightened in order to hold the cones in this adjusted position.

The cones having been set to a zero posi tion, the set shaft is rotated reversely so as to move the knees away from the saw a sufficient distance to allow of a log being dogged thereto. After the log has been dogged to the knees, the set shaft is rotated so as to move the log up against the saw. lVhen the log is in this position, the distance between the saw and the knees, or in other words, the diameter of the log, will be indicated in inches or fractions upon the dial 11, by the distance between the inner zero setting point and the indicator arm 30.

After the diameter of the log has been ascertained, the saw mill carriage is moved backward from the saw and the log then moved laterally upon the carriage a distance equal to the thickness of the slab that is de sired to be taken off of the log. lVhen the log has been set in this position, the carriage is moved forwardly and the slab taken off. After the slab has been taken off, a glance at the distance between the Zero point of the dial 11 and the indicator arm will indicate the thickness of the remaining portion of the log.

Immediately after the slab has been taken OR of the log, the dial 15 is adjusted relatively with respect to the dial 11 so that the graduation of either of the circular rows of graduations 1'7, 18, 19 or 20, nearest the indicator arm 30 is moved into alinement therewith. For instance if it is desired to out two inch planks from the remaining portion of the log, the dial 15 is adjusted so that the graduated mark 32 of the circular row of graduations 20 nearest the indicator arm 30 is moved into alinement with. the indicator arm. This being done the saw mill carriage with its log dogged thereto is moved away from the saw, and the set shaft then set up until the next successive graduation mark is moved into alinement with the indicator arm 30, which will iiulicate to the operator that the log has been moved laterally the distance of two inches. ".lhe carriage is then moved ilorward and 1: two inch plank taken ol'l. Any desired number of planks may be taken olt of the log by a repetition of the above operation.

From this it will be seen that by a glam-e at the dial 11, the amount that has been sawed off of the log, or the amount remaining in the log can be rezulily ascertained at any desired time.

lVhen the desired number of planks have been taken from the log, the log may be turned flat side down and the just described operation repeated in order to take oli' slab and any desired number of planks. it is desired to take a timber off say twelve inches square, the set shaft can be operated until the desired number of inches, namely twelve, have passed beneath the indicator arm 80, when the carriage may be moved forward and a twelve inch timber removed from the log.

It will be understood, of course that lumber of any thickness may he sawed and the number of graduations increased to any de gree and by arranging the graduations on the adjustable dialv in the manner shown, the device can be set to saw the proper thickness of lumber from the log almost instantly and without stopping to calculate the distance to which the log must be shifted.

It will likewise be seen that by properly setting the adjustable dial with relation to the fixed dial that the proper number of strips of lumber may be severed from the log without stopping to keep a record of the same as an observance of the registration of the initial starting point with the indicator arm 30 will instantly indicate that the proper number of sections of lumber has been sawed.

This device can be attached to any make of mill carriage as it is but necessary to place pinion 8 on the set shaft 2 and secure the remainder of the device over the set shaft and on to the sill which can be very readily accomplished.

Figs. 3 and l of the drawings show a slightly modified form of the invention, and how the device may be constructed in order to be conveniently used with a saw mill carriage and set shaft thereof. In this form of the device the construction and operation of the device is identical with that previously described, with the exception that the supporting shaft 5 and the sleeve 9 surrounding it are made slightly longer, so as to support the indicator proper at a position above the set shaft, and so that it will be in easy and convenient reach of the saw mill set shaft operator.

Having thus fully described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters-Patent is:

1. An indicator device comprising a dial, an operating gear for the dial, an adjustable dial mounted 011 the first dial, coopera ting graduations on the faces of said dials, an indicator finger extending over the faces of said dial, and means to rotate said dials from the set shaft of a saw mill carriage and bring said graduations on the dials in line with the said finger to determine the thickness of the timbers being sawed.

2. An indicator device for saw mill carriages comprising a gear having an elongated hollow sleeve, means to support said gear, a dial fixed to said sleeve, said dial having an inclined face portion on which are placed graduations, an adjustable dial rotatably mounted on said sleeve and resting on the upper edge of the first dial, said adjusting dial having an inclined face divided into spaces, each space having graduations thereon of different dimensions, an indicating finger adapted to cooperate with the graduations on said dials, and means to rotate said gear and dials from the set shaft of a mill carriage to successively move certain of the graduations on the dial to register with said finger.

3. A calculating device for saw mill carriages comprising a bracket having a socket, a standard fixed in said socket and extended upwardly therefrom, a gear rotatably mounted on said standard, said gear having an elongated hollow sleeve, a dial fixed in said sleeve and having graduations thereon, an adjustable dial rotatable on said sleeve and having graduations to cooperate with the graduations of the fixed dial, means to hold said adjustable dial in engagement with the fixed dial under tension, an indicating finger carried by the standard and extending over the faces of the dials adapted to cooperate with the graduations thereon, and means to rotate said dials to successively bring certain of the graduations thereon into registration with the indicating finger.

a. A calculating device for saw mill earriages comprising a bracket, a standard carried by the bracket and fixed thereto, a gear rotatable on said standard, an elongated hollow sleeve carried by the gear, a graduated dial fixed to the sleeve, a graduated adjustable dial rotatable on the sleeve and engaging the upper edge of the fixed dial,

means to direct downward pressure on the adjustable dial, an indicating finger adapted to cooperate with the graduations on the dials, and means to operate said dials from the set shaft of the mill carriage.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WVILLIAM L. WALDING.

lVitnesses D. E. Monsn, L. O. PERKINS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, 1). G. 

